There’s A Second Page To That Mueller Probe Infographic Trump Was Waving Around, And It Isn’t Flattering
When Donald Trump flashed an eye-catching infographic spelling out the effort that went into the Mueller probe, the president failed to share the less flattering side of the data, ABC News reports. The infographic, which was produced by ABC, spelled out, by the numbers, a variety of statistics having to do with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump was using the graphic, which detailed figures such as 500 search warrants issued and 40 FBI agents engaged, to illustrate the tremendous amount of time and resources that went into an investigation which he has personally referred to as a “witch hunt.” The graphic the president showed, however, was incomplete.
And in fact, the information that Trump did not share paints a much more grim picture for his administration with respect to the actual outcomes of the investigation so far. The second piece of the graphic includes statistics such as the six Trump associates charged, the 37 indictments issued, and the four individuals sentenced to prison so far. There are also multiple references to Russia, including the three Russian business entities indicted and the 26 Russian individuals indicted.
The remarks during which Trump held up the portion of the infographic came following an impromptu appearance with reporters in the White House Rose Garden in which the president lashed out at his Democratic opponents following the abrupt end to a planned meeting with Democratic leaders on national infrastructure.
Trump held up an ABC News graphic during the Rose Garden event today — but notably did not hold up a second page of that graphic — that details the numbers of indictments, guilty pleas and people sent to prison. Here's both pages –> https://t.co/3yZAwegb7L pic.twitter.com/VTDsVBAgYK
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) May 22, 2019
“I’ve said from the beginning, right from the beginning that you can’t go down both tracks. You can go down the investigation track or you can go down the investment track,” Trump said, recalling what he described as his own words for the Democratic leaders present at the meeting before he left the room after only a matter of minutes.
“You can’t do it under these circumstances. So, get these phony investigations over with,” he said, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Tension has been palpable between Democratic leadership, particularly Pelosi, and Trump. Pelosi, however, has remained noncommittal, if not downright averse, when it comes to discussions of impeachment of the president, an idea that has seen growing support among her caucus in recent weeks.
Pelosi has continued to maintain a focus on legislative priorities and seems unprepared to take on the impeachment issue based on the information currently available. Many in the party, however, are unconvinced.
“I don’t probably think there’s any Democrat who probably wouldn’t in their gut say, you know, he’s done some things that probably justify impeachment,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer earlier this week.
